Monday, March 8, 2010

Finally! Here's one for the boys! An Ice Cream Birthday Party for my two darling nephews, William turning 6 and James turning 3. The boys love ice cream, and what could be more tempting than a build-your-own ice cream sundae buffet? A perfect theme for the boys and their guests in each age group, and incredibly simple to create and sure to please!

We went with three colors for a unique color-scheme: red, light blue, chocolate brown (with hints of white of course).

The color-scheme was incorporated throughout the party starting with the invitations.

Then we integrated it into the decorations creating custom felt bunting in red and light blue--which both boys took home to hang over their new bunk beds!

Red, light blue and chocolate balloons brought the color scheme to new heights (tied with narrow white grosgrain ribbon instead of the standard curling ribbon provided at the party store). We also custom created our classic paper party hats in red, chocolate, light blue and white stripe and polka dot patterns for a festive look (like wearing an upside down ice cream cone on your head, as one of the boys said!)

We created a custom table cloth out of chocolate and white polka dot fabric, then covered with a custom red felt overlay(more eco-friendly, easy clean up and great textures for a simple but stunning presentation).

The Ice Cream Sundae Buffet was a dream to create (and enjoy as a family member this time!) I wanted something that was simple, inexpensive and visually mesmerizing for the boys.

For the ice cream, I used three light blue beach pails (and the white matching shovels were the "scoops" to get the ice cream out with!).

Each bucket was labeled with our custom tags featuring the flavors.

William loves strawberry ice cream so that was a must.

James loves classic vanilla and was quickly added to the list of flavors.

Dad Michael loves anything chocolate, so he added a super double fudge chocolate ice cream, and we had our three perfect flavors!

For toppings, we cleared all food allergies before creating the menu (a good idea, especially when toppings are placed so close to one another and easily can be dropped and mixed in with another topping).

Using 5 clear plastic (dishwasher safe!) 3-compartment shallow trays, mom Victoria worked her food-stylist magic in making sure all toppings were displayed in the most mouth-watering combinations.

We used our custom candy and sundae buffet signs in our color-scheme to show off our creative names for the toppings. From "Ooey Gooey Hot Fudge Lava" to "Cowboy-whipped Cream", "Dinosaur Egg Marshmallows" to "Crushed Oreo Dirt"...we made sure the titles made for imaginative ice cream sundae creations.

And what Ice Cream Birthday Party should be without party hats for the ice cream sundaes? I saw these fabulous chocolate "Oreo" ice cream cones and knew they would be the perfect way to top of each sundae.

The ice cream was served in old fashioned ice cream sundae glasses, with red plastic spoons. Light blue paper napkins with white swiss dots were there to wipe away any messes.

Red old fashioned party blowers made for a fun classic party decoration and favor.

It was an absolute joy to watch the "boys" all create their sundaes (kids, dads, grandfathers), and moms too! I took some "after" shots of the sundae dishes...it appears that the sundaes were devoured with delight!

While ice cream sundaes were certainly the hit of the party, I wanted to offer a few activities to burn off some of that energy from all those sweet toppings! Therefore I custom created a "Pin The Cherry On The Ice Cream Sundae" game for James and his friends to play (William's crowd was a bit too old for this activity). The game made for a great wall decoration as well! I hand crafted the entire game out of felt, with a red and white striped "awning" at the top (reminiscent of an old fashioned ice cream shoppe), three scoops of ice cream (same flavors as what we offered at the party, of course!), tiny "sprinkles" and a light blue ice cream dish to match our color-scheme. Each child was given a felt cherry and the goal was to get your cherry on top of the chocolate scoop in the center. The game hung by a light blue velvet ribbon attached to the white wooden rod, complete with finials.

While the younger crowd enjoyed their cherry game, I crafted a game for the William and his guests to create ice cream cone forts. This ended up being far more popular than I expected. The boys were separated into two teams, each given a tub of chocolate frosting and 36 ice cream cones. Their goal was to use all their cones creating the tallest fort, the fastest. It ended up that the boys enjoyed themselves so much, it was less of a race and more of a game of construction and engineering! It was a blast to watch, and the little guys were all quite proud of their creations.

A fun game for the adults was suggested to me by a friend: matching "Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream" names and flavors/ingredients.

For party favors, I wanted to stick with our ice cream theme but also give something practical. So, we gave old fashioned ice cream scoops with our custom printed favor tags tied on with red grosgrain ribbon. In addition to their scoops, the boys were given cello bags filled with their favorite toppings: Benjamin loved the rainbow sprinkles, William loved the gummy worms, baby sister Marie loved the blue gummy bears...a sweet ending to one sweet party!

Many of the products in this party feature are available for custom order through Kate Landers Events, LLC! Please contact us at info@katelandersevents.com to inquire about your favorite item. Many will be added to our shoppe soon, but almost all are available right away for custom orders!

Would you like Kate Landers Events, LLC, to plan your child's next birthday party? We offer a variety of party planning services and packages, available nationwide, and custom created to fit a wide range of budgets. Contact us at info@katelandersevents.com!

THIS IS GREAT! From the felt banner, to the old fashioned cups! I wish it wasn't too late to change my little guy's bday party theme but for his 2nd Bday I know which idea I'm going to steal oops I mean use lol. Great Job!!